Pages

Marginalia

Accumulations

In the case of the missing R$400 million — US$ 200 million — investigated by the federal police, the press — the Estado de s. Paulo, to be exact — has apparently identified the OSCIP — a peculiarly Brazilian form of NGO — through which the money was laundered.

A fugitive in two cases, congressional aide operated a scheme inside the Labor Ministry. Investigators say that “Marquinhos” was responsible for hiring politicall agents who received payoffs.

Brasília – Considered a fugtive from Justice, parliamentary aide Marcos Vinícius da Silva, aka Marquinhos, is pointed to as the operator of two schemes taken down iby police n the last three months. Until July, he worked in the office of federal deputy Ademir Camilo (PSD-MG), who dismissed Marquinhos when the irregularities surfaced. Unleashed on Monday, September 9, Operation Aesop has evidence of the role the aide played in diverting funds from the Labor Ministry. According to the investigation files, he operated in city governments in Northern Minas Gerais in order to release payments from the World Institute for Development and Citizenship, an OSCIP that was allegedly at the center of the fraudulent practices.

Ther are signs that mayors received bribes in exchange for selecting the NGO and repassing federal budget allocations to it. Ademir Camilo told the Estado that if irregularities were committed, the aide acted on his own initiative. Marquinho was fired from the lawmaker’s office on July 3, on day after the PF unleashed Operation Invisible Violence, which took down a scheme that falsified fideral judicial a and then sold the nealry worthless securities to the city governments. Investigators say the aide was in charge of contacting the politicians who received bribes. The defense team of Marquinhos have filed for a writ of habeas corpus without success. On Monday, the PF sought Marguinhos again based on warrant issued by court overseeing the case. The report on the case, obtained by the Estado, says that the former aide to Camilo was responsible for allocating payments to city governments in Janaúba and Januária, “probably a bribe paid to the ex-mayor of the latter,” Maurílio Neris de Andrade Arruda (PTC), who served as mayor until 2012. The PF says the former mayor of Januária agreed with the hiring of IMDC without competitive bidding, and okayed payments to the NGO while ignoring the warnings of his aides. Along with the irregularities indicated by Operation Aesop, the ex-mayor is the subject of eight administrative misconduct charges and two criminal charges. The police point to Marquinhos as the central figure in the scheme mounted in Minas Gerais. “The political slant of this investigation must be taken into account to explain the motive of so many mayors choosing IMDC to execute the Projovem program, in each case with irregularities in the selection process and execution of the program,” the report says.

Attorneys for the aide and the ex-mayor were not located for comment. Deputy Ademir Camilo said he had no idea of his aide’s participation in the schemes. According to him, Marquinhos worked at his political office in Minas Gerais and, prior to Operation Invisible Violênce, he had only met the man two or three times, despite his direct relation with the main office. Camilo took part in trips in the company of Minas government Antonio Anastasia (PSDB), to announced more funding for the Projovem program, originating in accords with the Labor Ministry. But the projgram denies it acted within the Congress to direct more money to such partnerships, using parliamentary emendments. “All I get is R$500,000 per month, which was not even paid, ” hes ays. The governor of Minas Gerais, through his press office, said he would “collaborate fully” with the investigation and reported that after the first accusations of fraud relating to IMDC, in 2010, a state agency, IDENE, rescinded its contracts and went to court to get its money back. The OSCIP was also included on a registry of bankrupt firms, but was take off the list by judicial order.

The CGU Reports

During the course of investigations, the CGU discovered that the criminal organization had engaged in influence peddling with an eye to avoiding competitive auctions and obtain financial advantages. Allong with the contract signings, future contractual amendments were planned that would overcharge for the service. Also detected was the use of “shell corporations” and real corporations without any real interest in bidding on work coveted by IMDC. Articulated by IMDC or its partners, they participated in competitive bidding processes for the sole purpose of making it appear that there was real competition.

“… by IMDC or its partners …” What partners? Do I dig through the Junta Comercial to try to find out? A few additional details:

The PF said that the OSCIP IMDC, tartget of an investigation in Belo Horizonte, has not entered into a single contract in the past five years not clouded by suspicions of fraud. Police monitored the OSCIP’s transactions during this period with state and city governments and privatee organizations and found irregularities in the contracting process or the provision of services. The investigatiob began in late 2011 and terminated in Operation Aesop this Monday.

The NGO’s Web site contains no information at all about its directors and executives, or its public sector partners. Postal address: